Among the stories that floated out in the first month or so: Tiger is hiding out in his mansion, sitting on his couch, watching cartoons all day. No, he's living on his yacht. No, he's taking his yacht to the Bahamas. No, he's on a friend's ranch in South Africa. No, he's ensconced in a billionaire buddy's New York condo.
Ah, those times seem so innocent now, don't they? Lately, all the Woods rumors center around treatment facilities for sex addiction.
He's in Arizona at a rehab clinic. No, he's getting treatment at a clinic at South Africa. No, he's at a facility in Mississippi.
The Mississippi rumor is the latest, and, perhaps, the most likely to turn out to be true (which isn't really saying much). Celebrity gossip site RadarOnline.com first reported last week that Woods has checked into the Pine Grove Behavioral Health and Addiction Services clinic in Hattiesburg, Mississippi.
Over the weekend, two television stations - WJTV, the CBS affiliate in Jackson, Ms., and WLBT, the NBC affiliate in Jackson - reported that "sources" told them Woods really is checked into the Pine Grove facility. What sources? The sources weren't identified.
Today, Tiger's hometown newspaper, the Orlando Sentinel, posted a brief article that cited that Mississippi television station reports. Could that be a sign that the Sentinel has found out enough to believe the story is true, but not enough to publish a confirmation yet? Maybe. Maybe not.
"Maybe, maybe not" is the theme of all the Tiger Woods sightings reports. It's also the theme of a humorous Associated Press article published Sunday in which an intrepid AP reporter spends two days in Hattiesburg chasing the Woods rumor. He might as well have been chasing Bigfoot.
The reporter heard from plenty of local residents who have a sister-in-law whose cousin's friend has seen Tiger in town, but nobody who claimed a first-hand sighting. Contrary to some other reports of local law enforcement increasing security around the facility, the AP reporter saw no such security increase outside the facility, and local police officials told him they had received no request for such an increase.
While the AP reporter wrote that "the rumors have the tantalizing feel of truth," he couldn't actually verify anything. And there aren't just Tiger Woods rumors around the Pine Grove clinic: "Rumor has it there's a former NBA player and a well-known female country music singer there now. Or last week. Or pretty darn recently. Probably."
Meantime, RadarOnline.com doubled-down on its original report with an "exclusive" that Woods' wife, Elin Nordegren, hasn't bothered to visit him in sex rehab. But that tells us nothing. If he really is there, and trying to maintain privacy, then Elin visiting is the last thing that would happen. And if he isn't there, well, Elin visiting is the last thing that would happen.
And today, RadarOnline.com posted another "exclusive," stating that Woods plans to return to the PGA Tour in the Spring, following completion of his rehab for sex addiction. Of course, lots of people believe that Woods will return in the Spring, either at or shortly before The Masters, and the timing has nothing to do with any real or imagined treatment for sex addiction.
It's tempting to dismiss any reports emanating from gossip sites ... except that gossip sites got quite a bit right in the reporting during the immediate aftermath of Tiger's car crash in November.
So where in the world is Tiger Woods? Do we really know anything? Maybe. Maybe not.
Comments
Ha, Ha, what a Joke! First it was Arizona, then South Africa and now is Mississippi! If this is true, it certainly took him a long time to make a decision. Maybe he got tired of partying and decided to get a little rest. I suspect that this whole rehab thing is a big HOAX. Tiger is so arrogant that he thinks he does not need rehab. Sorry Tiger, we cannot trust you again, but keep trying.
He’s more likely hangin’ with Hugh!
if I was to be caught cheating on my wife (and not 20 times but just once) and then try to get off the hook by claiming it was “sex addiction”, I think I would have better chances blaming it on the aliens…like I do when hitting errant golf swings.